Extending DJI Go with LITCHI

You may have heard the term “Litchi” thrown around in drone forums and videos. Litchi is a 3rd party app that seeks to improve upon the official DJI Go app. If you‘re anything like me, you’re probably wondering why anyone would shell out $22.99 for something that DJI offers for free.

For me, it started when I was struggling to stitch panoramic photos. My pictures were getting rejected by DroneBase. Even the best programs like Kolor couldn’t make heads or tails of my photos. Manually rotating the aircraft just wasn’t cutting it. After some research, I learned that the Litchi app would completely automate the process. Before even reading the other features, I decided to give Litchi a shot. And boy did it work – not only did the photos fit together with laser-precision, but a recent update allowed for in-app stitching. The Litchi “high quality” stitch still had some errors, not to mention their logo taking up sky real estate. (I asked if that could be turned off, but, alas, Litchi support told me no) With a little cleaning up in Photoshop, I was still able to get this pano on my very first day.

So panoramas are an area where Litchi has a huge leg up on DJI Go. However, let’s step back and compare pros and cons of Litchi to help you decide if it’s something you’d honestly get any value out of.

PROS

FPV mode: As great as the official DJI goggles are, not everyone can spend $400 on the experience. Litchi supports 3rd party VR headsets, including head movement tracking, to bring the experience to anyone as cheaply as $10-$20.

Improved Waypoint Mode: Litchi’s waypoint mode is loaded with features like curve smoothing, points of interest, batch adding/editing, mission pre-design, etc. It even finishes its mission after losing connection to the controller. The official Go app requires you fly the mission manually first.

Tracking for All: While the DJI Go app offers subject tracking for the Phantom 4 series, Litchi extends this feature to owners of other models as well.

Freedom: While I value safety, DJI was starting to feel like big brother telling me where I can and can’t take off or fly. Unlocking areas around airports that don’t even exist anymore was getting old, and Litchi doesn’t have the same location nanny that Go does. Actually, there’s ZERO pop-ups on your screen with Litchi.

CONS

No Cache, Previews: As far as I know, there is no way to preview non-pano photos and videos taken with Litchi without actually hooking up to a PC. The app isn’t very upfront about this, and I spent forever hunting down photo/video on my device that didn’t exist.

Camera Settings: DJI is a camera company first and foremost – the Litchi app just doesn’t offer the same detailed control over camera settings that the Go app does.

Bugs: I haven’t personally had an error or bug, but do a little Googling and you’ll find that there are still wrinkles to work out in the code. The latest patches can be found on theLitchi site. Remember, you can switch back to the Go app mid-flight if you do experience an error in Litchi. Whatever you do, stay calm, take a deep breath, and use your head.

Design: Face it. DJI has the budget to create a fully fleshed out, aesthetically pleasing app. Litchi just doesn’t have the same UX that Go offers.

CONCLUSION

While Litchi isn’t for everyone, it does act as an indispensable extension of the DJI Go app for those who need it. I found it worth the price for the pano feature alone. If you feel uneasy about dropping money on software, consider the following. The whole point of buying any accessory for your drone is to solve a problem by making your aircraft do new things. Whether it’s hardware or software, you’re unlocking new capabilities in the sky.

Note on Android version: The Android version of Litchi has a slightly different UI, but the same basic capabilities. Many Android users report a disconnect bug with the Go app, so switching to Litchi is a possible solution. Keep in mind that the Android version is actually pricier than the Apple version at $24.99.

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Welcome to We Mod Quads! I’m Zack, a Part 107 certified aerospace engineering student. I made this blog to test and share the coolest aftermarket products for drones. I will primarily test and discuss products in the context of DJI families of aircraft. Often, these items work with other makes and models as well. Hopefully We Mod Quads content is as fun and educational for you as it was for me to make! Outside of studying rocket science in class, you’ll find me crewing hot air balloons, training Muay Thai, or snowboarding.

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